


100

by pommedeplume



Series: Werewolves and Resurrection (Canon Divergent AU) [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Birthday, Bittersweet, Feels, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Nostalgia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-31
Updated: 2018-01-31
Packaged: 2019-03-11 23:52:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13535208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pommedeplume/pseuds/pommedeplume
Summary: (March 10, 2060)It's Remus Lupin's 100th birthday.





	100

_March 10, 2060_

 

This was never supposed to happen. Remus opened his eyes and glanced at the calendar on the wall, where Sirius had ever so helpfully circled the day’s date. No, he should’ve been dead and buried many years ago. But somehow he had survived two wars and a lifetime with a chronic illness to reach an age of triple digits.

But here he was, Remus Lupin, former Hogwarts professor, advocate for werewolf rights, husband of Sirius Black. He was comfortably retired and had great-grandchildren or as Sirius would say, _Perfectly adequate grandchildren_. Sirius has never changed and Remus quite likes it that way.

Remus slid out of bed. One-hundred years old. He felt it. No… he felt older. Much older. But that’s OK, he though. It’s OK to feel old. He’s done a great deal with the time he’s been given. He has lived long enough to see his son grow old.

Remus could remember when Teddy was first born, mere weeks before the Battle of Hogwarts, holding him in his arms and believing he would not survive the coming battle to see his son grow up. He felt almost destined to die. He was OK with that. As long as Dora could live on he would’ve been OK with dying.

But then… they both had lived. Only to get divorced a couple of years later, because sometimes good people just don’t work together. He blamed himself for it falling apart. Dora, of course, blamed herself. But it was nobody’s fault. These things happen.

And then Sirius returned. Again. He was good for that. But this was different. Sirius had gone through the bloody veil. He was gone. But he wasn’t anymore. He was standing at Remus’s doorstep looking exactly as he had in life. It had been a scandal. The ministry submitted Sirius to more tests than Remus had known existed. And everything told them a simple fact: this was Sirius Black.

Meanwhile, Dora had fallen in love with a most unexpected person: Fleur Delacour. Things had worked out nicely and Teddy had a de facto younger sister in the form of Bill Weasley and Fleur’s daughter, Victoire.

But that was all… such a long time ago. A lot had happened. When he was sixty he had somehow been roped back into taking over his old post at Hogwarts as Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor. Their world had changed. People like him might never be fully accepted but he had made a difference. Ten years ago he had retired, preferring to spend all his remaining years, for once, just relaxing and enjoying life.

There was a knock at the door.

“Yes, Padfoot?” Remus called out, his voice a bit raspy.

He took a drink of water from the glass on his night stand as Sirius replied, “Just seeing if you are decent. The family has arrived.”

Remus set the glass down and smiled. Every year he said he didn’t want a party. All he wanted was tea and to sit down and share some conversation with his husband but Sirius never listened.

“I’ll be out in a moment. Let me see about the loo then I’ll get my robes on,” Remus replied.

Remus went about getting ready. He wasn’t as fast or as graceful as he used to be but he thought he managed well enough all things considered. Once his robes were on and his hair, such as it was, was combed he took a breath, preparing to greet his grandchildren and his ex-wife. But it was funny… the voices… seemed louder than they should.

He opened the door and gasped at how full the house seemed to be.

“Merlin’s beard,” Remus uttered.

“Happy birthday!” Sirius called out, striding over and embracing him.

“Thank you, Padfoot,” Remus said, giving Sirius a tender kiss.

Remus pulled back, his hands still in Sirius’s as he surveyed the room. They were all here. Not just his own family, but Harry’s too.

“Happy birthday, Professor Lupin,” Harry said, walking over in Muggle clothes, hands in pockets.

Harry was an old man himself now. His green eyes were faded as was his infamous scar. But somehow he still seemed like the same young man he had once known so long ago.

“Harry, why do you still call me Professor?” Remus said, giving Harry a tight hug.

“Guess I’m getting sentimental,” Harry admitted.

“Dad,” a voice said from behind them, patting Remus on the back.

“Son,” Remus said, turning to face Teddy, whose hair was long and blue.

Teddy was almost sixty-two but didn’t look his age. It was perhaps a side effect of being a metamorphmagus. Tonks was in her mid-eighties and didn’t look a day over sixty herself.

Remus hugged his son, thinking of all the people in the room he had to greet. And he would greet them all… one by one.

* * *

 

Remus sighed. The last of the family had just left and he was now sitting down on the sofa, Sirius next to him, lying against his shoulder.

“No party next year, Padfoot,” Remus said firmly.

Sirius turned and smirked.

“I could promise you that there won’t be a party next year but would you really want me to lie to you?” Sirius asked, still so much mischief in his voice.

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Remus joked.

Sirius laughed and said, “That’s true, I suppose. But I have never lied when it wasn’t for your own good.”

Remus grunted then coughed.

“The cough sounds rough, old man. You’re not dying on me already?” Sirius asked, a little sadly.

“Hmph. I’ll die when I’m good and ready. And I’m not ready. I intend to outlive Dumbledore… just to prove everyone wrong. Everyone who told me I would never make it past eighty… then ninety… and now a hundred. I’ll live just one day longer than Dumbledore. That’ll be enough,” Remus explained.

Sirius chuckled.

“Then I intend to outlive you. By a year,” Sirius replied.

“Oh? You always were competitive. But that’s fine. I once watched you die. It’s only fair,” Remus said, locking their fingers together and kissing the top of Sirius’s grey head.

“You’ve still got a few hours left of your birthday. How would you like to spend them?” Sirius asked.

“Hmmm. I was thinking we would make love. And then lie down and you could tell me a story,” Remus said.

“Make love?” Sirius laughed then said, “Yes, we can do that. And what kind of story would you like?”

Remus thought for a minute. He knew what he wanted but he knew it always made Sirius sad.

“Tell me a story about James and Lily. Something from the good times,” Remus said.

Sirius was silent. Remus felt him nod.

“We can do that too,” Sirius said.

“Cheers.”

Sirius sat up and smiled at Remus. Remus straightened his back, feeling it crack a little, as he leaned into a kiss. As they walked hand in hand to the bedroom, Remus thought how Sirius didn’t really understand.

Remus didn’t like hearing about James and Lily because he wanted to remember what he lost. He wanted to remember what he’d be living for. He lived for them. He lived for Harry. He lived for his family. He lived for Sirius. But most of all, he lived for himself, because that’s what they would’ve wanted the most.

**Author's Note:**

> This was my 100th published work and I wanted to do something special...


End file.
